Large-firm advisors focused on educators, teachers, and academics in Iowa

Austin Norris is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Oskaloosa, IA, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 21 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2005. Outside of his advisory role, Norris has ownership interests in real estate and construction businesses, including a real-estate office building, farmland, and involvement in a construction project. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving individual and institutional clients nationwide. The firm manages over $1 trillion in assets through a large network of advisors and offers a range of advisory programs, including discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, operating under a fiduciary standard.

Blake Hamer is a CFP® professional at Stifel with eight years of industry experience. He has been with Stifel since 2017 and worked previously at Ocwen Loan Servicing from 2013 to 2017. He serves as Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors for the Family YMCA of Black Hawk County. Stifel serves a diverse client base including individuals, institutional clients, and municipal entities, offering brokerage and investment advisory services that incorporate proprietary capital market assumptions and probabilistic modeling developed by its Investment Strategy Group.

Andrew Richman is a financial advisor with Packerland Brokerage Services, Inc. in Wauwatosa, WI, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 28 years of industry experience. He has been with Packerland Brokerage Services since 2009. In addition to his advisory role, he is involved in insurance sales, focusing on life, health, long-term care, fixed, and indexed annuities. Packerland Brokerage Services, Inc. serves individuals, charities, corporations, and retirement plan sponsors with financial planning, portfolio management, and advisory program access through various platforms and account management options. The firm is dually registered as an SEC investment adviser and FINRA broker-dealer, managing over $900 million in client assets, and offers both brokerage and advisory implementation pathways.

Michael Gasperi is a financial advisor at Avantax Planning Partners, Inc. with 28 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at Cetera Wealth Services, LLC, Avantax Investment Services, Inc., and ProEquities, Inc. He also serves as a Senior Financial Advisor and Non-Equity Partner at Honkamp Krueger Financial Services, where he acts as a wholesaler to CPA representatives. Avantax Planning Partners provides investment advice and planning primarily to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and businesses through referral arrangements with independent CPA firms and registered advisor representatives. The firm employs a model-based style allocation strategy overseen by an Investment Advisory Committee and generally manages client accounts on a discretionary basis with centralized trading and reporting.

Nicholas Manna is a financial advisor at Merrill with a Series 66 designation and experience starting in 2023. His prior work includes roles at Bank of America, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Merrill serves a wide range of clients, including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional investors, offering managed account programs, discretionary portfolio management, and brokerage execution. The firm emphasizes manager selection and tax-efficient strategies, supported by deep integration with Bank of America affiliates and a comprehensive investment platform.

Arjun Swarup is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF in Frisco, TX. He holds a Series 66 designation and has recently entered the industry with experience beginning in 2023, including time at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Prior to his advisory roles, he completed his studies at NYU College of Arts and Sciences. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC offers financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, corporate entities, and small retirement plans, often serving clients with existing TIAA retirement plan relationships. The firm provides both point-in-time planning services and ongoing portfolio management through various managed account options under a fiduciary standard.

Kevin Harper is a CFP® professional with 29 years of industry experience, currently serving at RFG Advisory, LLC since 2015. He has previously worked with Private Client Services and LPL Financial. Outside of his advisory role, he is a co-owner of LHP Capital LLC, where he assists with buying and managing commercial real estate. RFG Advisory is an enterprise registered investment adviser serving individuals, charitable organizations, corporations, ERISA retirement plans, and other institutional clients. The firm combines active and passive investment strategies across various platforms and acts as a sub-adviser to a multi-ETF suite, offering a range of services including portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting.

Rebecka Kennedy is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Olympia, WA. She holds the Series 66 designation and began her advisory career at Edward Jones in 2024. Prior to joining the firm, she worked in education with North Thurston Public Schools and Corpus Christi Independent School District. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a range of advisory programs and investment strategies, with a nationwide network of more than 23,700 financial advisors and $1.01 trillion in assets under management.

Marne De Santis is a financial advisor at Lincoln Investment with 33 years of industry experience. She has held roles at several firms including Rice Financial Products Company, CV Brokerage, Valdes & Moreno, Bluestone Capital Management, and Dautrich Seiler Financial Services. Her credentials include Series 63, Series 65, and Series 66 licenses. Lincoln Investment is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer managing approximately $18.9 billion in assets through a network of nearly 900 advisors. The firm serves individuals, employers, retirement plan participants, charitable organizations, corporations, and other registered investment advisers, offering financial planning, custom and model portfolios, third-party management access, and ERISA retirement plan advice.

Lindsey Egan is a financial advisor at EFS Advisors with 11 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including First Republic Securities Company and Cambridge Investment Research. Egan is also the sole owner of Women Who Explore, a community offering outdoor adventures and group travel for women. EFS Advisors provides investment advisory and financial consulting services to a diverse client base, including individuals, business entities, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a client-centric suitability scoring system to recommend portfolios and offers continuous supervisory management with quarterly performance reviews conducted by an in-house Advisory Committee.

Jeffrey Park is a financial advisor with Merrill, holding a Series 66 credential and seven years of industry experience. He has worked at Merrill in multiple capacities since 2011, with brief stints at JPMorgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities in 2022. Merrill serves a diverse client base including individuals, retirement plans, corporations, and institutional clients, offering managed account programs, discretionary portfolio management, and brokerage services. The firm employs a range of program strategies and manager-constructed portfolios, with oversight from its CIO and platform management, and leverages its affiliation with Bank of America to support trading, lending, and capital markets activities.

Scott Mahoney is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Giants Foot Cubed LLC. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a wide range of advisory programs and financial planning services supported by structured planning tools and broad investment resources.

Elizabeth Brown is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, NY, where she has worked since 2012. She has 26 years of industry experience. J.P. Morgan Securities provides institutional consulting services to clients such as corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager and fund searches, and customized performance reporting through a select group of Wealth Advisors. The firm combines large institutional advisory operations with brokerage, distribution, and investment management capabilities.

Wesley Pool is a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Clearing in Fort Worth, TX, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and 14 years of industry experience. He previously worked at JPMorgan Securities LLC for seven years and has entrepreneurial experience with #TagMeBro LLC. Wells Fargo Clearing provides retirement plan consulting to qualified ERISA and non-qualified deferred compensation plans, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary services grounded in modern portfolio theory and tailored to plan objectives and risk tolerances. The firm’s advisory process includes a broad range of investment options, including insurance-related vehicles and bank deposit sweep programs.

Willie Myles is a financial advisor at Equitable Advisors with 16 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016, previously affiliated with Axa Advisors. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for Alpha Light Fund Inc., a nonprofit organization. Equitable Advisors serves individual investors, retirement plan sponsors, corporations, and charitable organizations by providing financial planning, retirement-plan support, and access to asset management through various third-party programs. The firm operates a hybrid referral and implementation model, offering both advisory and brokerage channels to implement client recommendations.